Displaying items by tag: Import
Malawian government defends cement import licences
19 April 2016Malawi: The government of Malawi has defended its decision to introduce licences for cement importers saying there is no ban on importing the building material. Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Mkombezi said that the government was issuing the licences to protect consumers in a monopolised local industry and to prevent smuggling. He added that the licences were to regulate and bring ‘sanity’ to the industry according to All Africa.
Local cement producers have complained about the import licences. Directors with Cement Products Limited and Lafarge have claimed that imports of cement are threatening local jobs in the country.
Malawi drops ban on imported cement
22 March 2016Malawi: Malawi has relaxed its ban on importing cement, to prevent local consumers being exploited. The price of cement in the southern region where cement is produced locally is higher than the central region where cement is imported from Zambia. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has issued licenses to some importers to enhance competition on the market, according to All Africa.
"The ministry will always commit itself to fight smuggling and give strong support to all stakeholders such as Malawi Revenue Authority and the Malawi Police Service in this fight," said Ministry of Industry and Trade spokesperson, Wiskes Mkombezi. The ministry is encouraging importers to pay import duty and has asked the public to help combat smugglers. The country introduced licenses for cement importers in early 2000 to regulate the local market and promote the local industry.
South Africa: The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has confirmed to Pretoria News that Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved for sale in the country. However, the mandate is only part of the process the Chinese cement producer needs to secure to allow it to import cement into the country.
Thato Chabeli, the interim group manager of marketing, public relations and communications at SAB, confirmed to local press that ‘two schemes’ for Longkou Fanlin Cement had been approved by the SABS. He added that the trade body had not received any other applications from Chinese cement producers. The SABS certifies cement as being compliant with the South African compulsory specification before it can be sold in the domestic market. However, Chabeli, added that the Chinese cement producer also needed to secure a letter of approval from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) before the company would be permitted to export its cement to South Africa. The NRCS has not responded to queries by local press on the matter.
Industry commentators have compared potential cement imports from China to those of Pakistan. Local cement producers filed a dumping complaint with the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) about cement imported into South Africa from Pakistan. ITAC made a final determination in December 2015 on the anti-dumping duties and imposed duties ranging between 14.29 - 77.15% on cement imported from Pakistan. Subsequently, cement imports to South African from Pakistan fell by 30% year-on-year. The Pakistan government has since approach the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for arbitration on the dispute.
Tokyo Cement resumes clinker imports from Japan
18 March 2016Sri Lanka: Tokyo Cement has resumed importing clinker from Japan. The clinker will be used to make the producer’s NIPPON-PRO branded cement.
"We at Tokyo Cement having identified the demand for a high performance cement tied up with a leading Japanese manufacturer to import clinker with high specifications," said Dashantha Udawatte, Group Marketing Manager at Tokyo Cement.
Tokyo Cement operates a 2.4Mt/yr cement grinding plant in Trincomalee.
Ghana acts against cement imports
17 March 2016Ghana: Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has proposed legislation to parliament to cap imports of cement into the country. Spio-Garbrah also announced that all cement importers must register with the ministry by 31 March 2016 to apply for a permit, according to the Daily Trust.
"The Ministry of Trade and Industry proposes through legislative instrument to impose a ceiling on the annual importation of cement into Ghana. Companies that wish to import bagged cement shall be issued a permit to avoid the chaos that has lately saddled the sector," the ministry said in a statement. Companies legitimately licensed under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme will be exempt from applying for permits.
Ghana has a cement production capacity of 9Mt/yr but it only consumes 6Mt/yr giving it an excess of 3Mt/yr. However the country imports over 1Mt/yr of cement. Complaints about cement imports from Nigeria and China have been made in local press since the start of 2016.
Cimerwa calls for cement imports to be restricted
01 March 2016Rwanda: The management of Cimerwa has asked that the government prioritise locally-made cement, according to the New Times. Despite opening a new cement plant in mid-2015 and cutting its prices, the local producer has found it difficult to sell its product despite growth in the construction sector.
"We recognise that while the regional market is large enough for everybody, as local company, and as Rwandan consumers, we all have a duty to contribute to the economy by consuming locally-produced goods and services in order to reduce Rwanda's import bill and build local businesses," said Busisiwe Legodi, the chief executive officer of Cimerwa. The company is also considering setting up depots across Rwanda to further cut its prices.
Ghanaian cement producers praise higher Freight on Board value
25 January 2016Ghana: The Ghana Cement Manufacturers Association (GCMA) has praised the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for introducing a Freight on Board (FOB) value of US$60/t for cement, a rise from US$26/t previously. The GRA has been investigating allegations of under-declaration in the cost and freight value for imported bagged cement from China, according to local press.
"We commend the GRA for playing a vital role in this adjustment, and urge its sustenance in order to maximise revenue as well as protect the local cement industry," said George Dawson-Ahmoah, chairman of the GCMA. The GCMA maintains that imported bagged cement into Ghana is unnecessary give the country's surplus of locally manufactured cement. Members of the GCMA include Ghacem Limited, Diamond Cement, Savanna Diamond Cement and Western Diamond Cement.
Ghana: Ghana has lost over US$13m due to imports of around 500,000t of bagged cement the Cement Manufacturers Association of Ghana (CMAG) has said to the Daily Guide newspaper. The association is fighting imports of bagged cement into the country, principally from China, because local production of cement exceeds demand. Local cement production capacity is 7.4Mt/yr, current consumption is 5Mt/yr and this leaves a surplus of 2.4Mt/yr.
"It's mind-boggling to see the ascendancy of imports of bagged cement from China despite persistent petitions that the manufacturers have installed capacities to meet local demand," said CMAG chairman George Dawson-Ahmoah in a recent statement. The association has been lobbying government bodies in Ghana since April 2015 on the issue if imported bagged cement from China. Local producers affected by the imports include GHACEM Limited, Diamond Cement Ghana, Savanna Diamond Cement and Western Diamond Cement.
Pakistan: The Ministry of Commerce has initiated World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement proceedings to fight South African anti-dumping duties on cement from Pakistan. The basis of Pakistan's argument is that the injury determination mechanism followed by South African authorities (ITAC) is flawed and does not reflect true analysis of the situation.
The Pakistan challenge has raised the issue that the South African authorities used an extended period of investigation of four years for causation analysis and didn't properly examine the evidence in the light of trends over that period. In addition, Pakistan considers that South Africa failed to examine the relationship between the alleged dumping and the worsening of the condition of the domestic industry especially by failing to consider the effects of the decartelization of the domestic cement producers. It also accuses South Africa of not properly examining the entire product under investigation and instead limiting its injury analysis to bagged cement and disregarded sales by the domestic industry of the bulk cement. Finally, the challenge has pointed out that the South African authorities didn't provide a fair opportunity to Pakistani cement exporters to defend their case, denying access to the trade statistics.
In May 2015 South Africa imposed various rates of duties on Pakistani cement exports ranging from 15 – 68% plus anti-dumping duty on the import of Pakistani cement. Since March 2015 Pakistan has been pursuing the matter on a legal and diplomatic basis.
APCMA calls for action on Iranian imports
10 November 2015Pakistan: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has said that the growth in the domestic economy has supported overall growth in the cement industry. However it added that the industry has had to approach various decision makers to stop the influx of Iranian cement into Pakistan from Iran via Balochistan. The APCMA said that the industry needs a safeguard mechanism to be put in place to stop the adverse effects of cement smuggling into the country. It stated that the government should impose a 20% Regulatory Duty for import of cement in addition to the current customs duty.
The APCMA spokesperson added that, due to the high cost of doing business in Pakistan, the country's cement industry is losing competitiveness to other countries such as Iran, the UAE and India. The industry has appealed for reduction in energy costs, removal of taxes imposed on gas, a reduction of custom duty on coal to zero and an additional incentive of 5% on export of cement by sea.
Statistics indicate that the cement sector is now almost completely dependent on domestic sales, the share of which has increased to over 80% of total cement sales compared to just 50% in 2008 - 2009, as domestic sales continue to increase, while exports are showing constant decline. Cement dispatches to domestic markets during the month of October 2015 were 2.6Mt compared with 2.1Mt during October 2014, an increase of 24% year-on-year.